


of test dummies and mech techs

by moonrisn



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Mecha, Other, Platonic Relationships, lapslock, mecha pilot au, mecha pilot minho, mention of injuries in later chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26462569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonrisn/pseuds/moonrisn
Summary: a bit of banter between a mecha pilot and mecha technician.
Relationships: Lee Minho | Lee Know/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. 5:35 pm | in the garage

“you know, i’d appreciate it if you’d stop bringing my mech back to my shop half busted up every time, thanks!” you near shouted at minho from under the giant robot as you continued your check of said re-con mech, taking note of all the scratches and any bits lost from the recent emergency crash. poor thing wasn’t busted up too bad, but it’d be a night or two before you were sure it’d be back to it’s absolute best. “i took pity on you last time because you were hospitalized, alright? doesn’t give you a free pass to mess up my baby whenever you want.”

“you mean ‘my’ mech, thank you very much. and it’s still running, is it not?” minho, sitting off to the side and near gulping down his second bottle of water, called back to you. his fingers absently tapping away on the helmet that sat by his side on the workbenc, he put down his water bottle before pointing at the band-aid patch on his cheek, even if you couldn’t see him. “by the way, i appreciate your concern for my well-being, baby,” he tacked on with a bit of playful sarcasm. “good to know i’m just as loved as my own mech.”

of course you were always concerned for his well-being. hell, one of the first people to rush to his aid upon ground impact and ride with him to the hospital during one of his first crashes was you. practically white-knuckle gripping the armrests of the waiting room chair in nervousness, you and the other boys were in there in a heartbeat the second the nurse let people into minho’s room. granted, you weren’t the happiest knowing the two of you’s mech was no doubt as busted up as it’s driver, but that wasn’t your main concern at the moment. 

instead, you were relieved and happy to know he’d be okay. a little ruffed up and no doubt complaining and pouting like a child to chan about how he'd be benched from doing any sort of mech driving whatsoever until he healed, but okay. the very same relief and happiness he could feel when you gripped his bandaged hands and told him to ‘be more careful, test dummy. i can only fix so much.’

rolling out from under the silver mech and getting up with a small huff, you shot minho a look before getting up to grab your tools. “yeah, ‘your’ mech, sure, and i’m an repair android; beep boop, am i right?" at that, minho chuckled. "if anything, you’re lucky this baby’s still running better than last time, otherwise,” you raised up one of your wrenches and pointed the end at minho, “you’ll be visiting the hospital again real soon.” you said with a playful glare.

“oh, no! i’m so scared, i’m shaking in my driving boots,” he said in reply, putting a hand on his chest in mock fear. his mentioned boots, scuffed and a little dirty, were tucked away next to your heavy boots, where they’d wait relaxed yet mission ready.

“you’d be better be. now, if you could be so kind as to put on some safety goggles while i fix ‘our’ mech.” you said before grabbing a nearby spare pair and tossing them to him, then putting on your own.

inspecting the goggles you tossed to him, he chuckled, a soft sound that bounced playfully throughout your workshop in contrast to the occasional clangs and buzzing. “fine then, ‘our’ mech.” he said, his voice soft so that you wouldn’t hear. he supposed he like the sound of that better.


	2. 7:48 pm | in the rec room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some downtime and thoughts of how hands tell stories

the aches of the muscles in your hands were nothing new, as they seemed to come as a package deal with the occasional nicks and scratches from working in the team’s garage. if anything, you sometimes treated them along with your scars as badges of honor after a long day full of repair work. but, even though you had accepted them when they would show and make working a little difficult (and annoying), it didn’t mean you wanted them to stay.

“this is almost ironic, (name). a little too ironic, maybe,” minho said as he continued to carefully massage your hands. it was with a playful yet calm casualness that he spoke, making it seem that it was a common occurrence that you came to him with your hurting hands (it practically was at this point). his eyes focused on his task, he was gentle as he worked out the pain that had made a home in your hands. the two of you were sat on the large, soft rocking chair that sat near the window, the perfect spot to enjoy the sun when one wanted to do some napping. as you lay across minho's lap, feet dangling a bit over the arm of the chair and your head on the couch's, minho was focused on your hands, gently kneading out the aches and occasionally pushing to make the chair rock back and forth.

“there’s probably a chance in here for me to laugh a little and say ‘i told you so’,” his voice a calm and steady sound in the sunlit, quiet atmosphere of the base living room, it was a definite contrast from the usual clanging of metal and bright sparks of electricity in your garage. it was a welcomed contrast as it made you muse over the fact that it was a bit surprising that he hadn’t fallen asleep as he worked, knowing you were halfway asleep yourself.

‘just like you’d probably tell me’, he seemed to silently add on. you could still feel it in the warmth of his fingers.

“but?” your reply was more of a low hum than actual words, as minho’s sudden speaking roused you from the relaxed doze you had staring slipping into, making you shift your head a bit and slightly shifting the blanket that rested on the chair's back cushions. had he not said anything, you’re sure you probably would’ve started snoring a little. you slowly flexed your free right hand, enjoying the lack of heaviness that no longer rested there for now, before using it to pat minho’s arm. “what’s stopping you now?” though you didn’t open your eyes to meet his, he could hear a playful tone as sleepy as you were in your voice. 

“don’t know,” he said after a bit of a pause, his warm hands still holding one of yours, before resuming their work. "i'll have to think about it."

as he did so, minho began taking note of all the little scars that decorated your fingers and hands. he took note of the way his own hands, hands that piloted his mech with a trained steadiness and pride, hands that had their own little scars from failed test flights as well, contrasted against yours; yours that were a little rougher, that bared the result of sleepless nights spent in the garage you considered a second home. yours that always gave a gentle kindness to him and the other boys, despite the constant scolding of better care for himself and his machinery.

your hands that work their hardest to fix everything, always doing so with a steady sense of care and patience. and it was your scarred hands and you that minho admired for that, doing so with a smile that your closed, tired eyes couldn't see. "i'll just save it for another time, then."

a slow murmur of "wow, you're so kind, min," was your response as you stretched out after he finished and finally let go, before letting yourself get comfy enough to properly start falling asleep, now feeling relaxed enough once more. “what’ll i do without you?” 

he responded with a hum of a chuckle before reaching up and onto the back of the chair to grab the blanket that still resided there. murmuring quiet words of comfort to soothe you when you shifted in sleepy confusion, he draped the blanket across the both of you as he finally let his head rest with yours, closing his eyes and joining you in some much needed and content rest. as for that question, he’ll have to think about that one another time.


	3. 11:51pm | in freefall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he had been falling.  
> oh, god, he had been falling.

"hey, mech tech." 

the reality of the adrenaline-fueled madness that occurred only moments ago didn’t really hit as hard as the pounding of your heart in your chest until you heard his raspy voice directed at you. weak, raspy, and tired, but still very much minho’s. 

and with a small smile accented by a busted lip, your racing thoughts finally began to properly sort themselves into a proper train, starting with the fact that the other boys are coming as backup, he was hurt but safe, he was no longer falling- oh, right.

he had been falling.

oh, god, he had been falling.

looking like a shooting star without its glowing tail, his black and white combat suit bearing small rips and tears he'd laugh about later, minho had been unconsciously plummeting out of the sky with no sign of slowing down; his mecha now completely out of commission as it had been used as a makeshift bomb/battering ram against the downed creature that threatened the city you all called home.

and you, with the arms and hands of your temporary mecha stretched out as far as they could go and tears threatening to cloud your sight, had become a star-catcher. rocketing yourself towards him as quickly as possible and with a grip on the controls so tight you felt like your hands were bleeding, you were begging and pleading in your head and out loud to whatever deities were out there that you’d catch him. for if you didn’t, you doubted that you’d be able to even try to live with the guilt that you let the life of your best friend slip through your fingers, both metallic and human.

it probably wasn’t until his body was safely in your hands and the steady ‘thump’ of robotic feet touching the ground (a much more welcome sound than minho’s mecha crashing with sickening crunches and explosions into the now fallen beast’s body) greeted your ears, did you let at least one of your hands go in order to call for medical assistance. while you were busy calling for felix and jisung's backup, your eyes never dared to move from minho’s chest as the rise and fall from his breathing helped you keep your own near-erratic breathing steady.

thankfully, here he was now, in the safe hands of your temporarily borrowed mecha; 'very much temporarily', you made sure that minho knew, as you were originally meant to be on the ground, keeping watch and relaying out any bits of assistance from the base's terminal, not crammed into the pilot's chair of a mecha that still needed repairs.

a fact that a small part of him was a bit disheartened to hear, but understood with a small nod when you told him. a minor thing in comparison to the other physical pains he’d be feeling soon enough as he was no doubt battered and bruised in places you couldn’t see (though he could definitely feel), but otherwise safe. 

and with your own slightly raspy voice and watery smile in reply, his smile widened, ignoring his busted lip as he relaxed, knowing he was in safe hands; the hands of his best friend.

“hey, test dummy.”

**Author's Note:**

> how the hell do i tag this??? idk but! here's a small collection of mech pilot minho drabbles that were fun to muse over


End file.
